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Billie Jean King, American former World No. 1 professional tennis player Photo By King Enterprises –

10 Unbelievable Facts About Billie Jean King

Billie Jean Moffitt King is an American Tennis Champion and social activist. This legend changed the tennis scene by setting the bar high for the game. She not only founded the Women’s Tennis Association but also formed the Women’s Sports Foundation.

Billie the Tennis G.O.A.T won 39 Grand Slam singles, doubles, and mixed doubles titles, including a record 20 career titles at Wimbledon.

Billie Jean was born on 22^nd November 1943 in Long Beach, California. Her parents, Bill Moffitt and Betty Jerman Moffitt encouraged her and her younger brother Randy to excel in sports.

Her mother was good at swimming while her father played basketball, baseball, and ran track. Randy became a professional baseball player, while she played baseball and softball.

Billie went to Long Beach Polytechnic High School where she graduated in 1961. After, she proceeded to Los Angeles State College now California State University, Los Angeles. Here she met Larry King, dated him, and got engaged while still in school.

She left school in 1964 to focus on tennis. Billie Jean (20) and Larry (19) got married in September 1965, in Long Beach.

Here are 10 unbelievable facts about Billie Jean King.

1. Her First Tennis Game was at 11 Years

A tennis racket and two tennis balls on a court.
Photo By Vladsinger –

Billie Jean had been playing baseball and softball for a long time but had never played tennis. Her friend, Susan Williams, took her to a country club where Billie Jean played tennis for the first time.

From the moment she first picked up a tennis racket, she knew that was what she wanted. At 11 years she wanted to be the best tennis player in the world.

Billie began to play on Long Beach鈥檚 public courts using a racket she bought for herself with money earned from odd jobs. The public courts had the advantage of free lessons offered by professional Clyde Walker, who worked for the City of Long Beach.

The city later named one of the public courts the Billie Jean Moffitt King Tennis Center.

2. Fought for Equality in Tennis

Billie Jean became very good at tennis. Her name was a force to reckon with but she had issues she wanted to be resolved in the world of tennis.

The first conflict was when she was forbidden from being in a group picture at a tournament. She was wearing tennis shorts tailored by her mum instead of the usual white tennis dress.

Another issue was money.  Women were earning less than the men when it came to the prize money. Billie campaigned for standardization in the men’s and women’s games, but the inequalities continued.

The turning point was when Billie won the US Open in 1972 but received 15,000 dollars less than the men’s champion Ilie N膬stase. She vowed that she would not play the next year if the prize money was not equal.

In 1973, the US Open became the first major tournament to offer equal prize money for men and women.

3. She Started the Women鈥檚 Tennis Union

Billie Jean King Collection at the International Tennis Hall of Fame and Museum Photo By User:FA2010 –

In 1971, Billie formed a nine-player women’s group with the financial backing of World Tennis magazine founder Gladys Heldman and the sponsorship of Virginia Slims chairman Joe Cullman. These 鈥樷�橭riginal 9鈥欌�� were fighting for equal prize money for men and women.

Some top players did not support them, claiming that they played for the love of the game and not for the money. Billie and her team did the pioneering work and started getting the well-deserved and long-overdue recognition, endorsement deals, and pay equity.

That year, Billie became the first woman athlete to earn over 100,000 dollars in prize money.

Billie became the first President of the women’s players union 鈥� the Women’s Tennis Association in 1973.

4. Won Battle of the Sexes

Billie Jean King and Bobby Riggs in 1973. Photo By Unknown –

鈥淏attle of the Sexes鈥� was a tennis match between top women鈥檚 player Billie Jean King who was 29 years at the time and 55 years old Bobby Riggs who was a former No. 1 ranked men鈥檚 player. Riggs was a self-proclaimed male chauvinist. He had boasted that women were inferior and even at his age he could beat any female player.

The prize money was 100,000 dollars winner-take-all. Billie Jean beat Riggs. The win not only helped legitimize women鈥檚 professional tennis and female athletes but was a victory for women鈥檚 rights in general.

5. Inspired Elton John鈥檚 Philadelphia Freedom Song

Heather Bresch, Robert J Coury, Elton John, and Billie Jean King
Photo By Mylan N.V –

Elton John wrote the song “Philadelphia Freedom” with Bernie Taupin in 1975 for Billie Jean King. The song was written as a nod to her World Team Tennis team. He drew inspiration from her pioneering mixed-gender tennis team. It was a great song with a great beat and it became a number one hit.

6. She Didn鈥檛 Know She Was Gay

Billie Jean did not realize she was gay until the age of 25 years when she started being attracted to women. By then she was already married to Larry King.

7. Sued for Palimony

Marilyn Barnett, who was Billie鈥檚 secretary, sued the Kings for half their income and their Malibu house where she had been living rent-free. Billie and Marilyn had an intimate affair when she was still married to Larry.

The palimony lawsuit forced her out of the closet, making her the first prominent lesbian in sports history. Though the case was dismissed, she still lost endorsements.

8. Her Abortion was Made Public Without Her Consent

In 1971, while still married to Larry, Billie had an abortion. Her husband, without her approval, told the media about the abortion, saying she said their marriage wasn鈥檛 stable enough for a child.

9. The Presidential Medal of Freedom and Other Awards

In 2009, she was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Barack Obama for her work advocating for the rights of women and the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender community.

She was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1987, the National Women’s Hall of Fame in 1990, the National Gay and Lesbian Sports Hall of Fame in 2013, and the BBC Sports Personality of the Year Lifetime Achievement Award in 2018 plus many more awards and recognition.

10. Secretly Married Her Partner

Ilana Kloss, Billie Jean King, Kamala Harris, and Doug Emhoff
Photo By United States Senate –

Billie and Ilana Kloss have been together for over four decades. Billie has been with Ilana since her marriage to Larry ended in 1987. On 18^th October 2018, the two were married by former New York City Mayor, David Dinkins.

The secret ceremony took place in the Mayor鈥檚 apartment on Manhattan鈥檚 Upper East Side. The two said they kept it a secret because it felt more special that way.